In our March 30 Facebook Live session, Senior Investigator Deborah Bonello and Senior Editor Mike LaSusa discussed some of the main stories that we covered this week: a wave of recent violence against journalists in Mexico, the importance of tackling illicit financial flows in the fight against organized crime, and a brewing narco war on the border between Brazil and Paraguay.
The conversation began with Bonello explaining how a spate of recent attacks against journalists in Mexico fits into broader patterns of insecurity. She also discussed some of the shortcomings of Mexico's security policies, which were reflected in recent homicide statistics from the country's 50 most violent municipalities.
The discussion then shifted to a recent report from the advocacy group Global Financial Integrity, which estimated that the total annual revenue generated by transnational organized crime around the globe could amount to as much as $2.2 trillion. LaSusa explained how the report's conclusions relate to criminal dynamics in the Americas, and why its authors advocate for a greater focus on combating illicit financial flows in order to disrupt the operations of organized crime.
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Bonello and LaSusa also talked about recent violence on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, where local drug trafficking groups appear to be engaged in a battle over important smuggling routes. As they discussed, one of the main questions about these incidents is whether or not they are related to a recent -- and bloody -- feud between Brazil's two biggest prison gangs, both of which are known to operate in that area.
Watch the Facebook Live broadcast to hear the full conversation:
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